Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Up 2.2% - Should You Buy?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) rose 2.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $174.19 and last traded at $173.71. Approximately 664,361 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 5,881,221 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.98.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. JMP Securities increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. HSBC upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $203.06.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.2 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $180.06 and a 200-day moving average of $184.73. The firm has a market cap of $111.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $18,191,542.15. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 358,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,353,042.65. This represents a 21.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total value of $16,541,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,543,516 shares in the company, valued at $586,132,981.56. The trade was a 2.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock worth $181,925,602. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 322 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Adero Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.3% during the first quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 1,556 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Snider Financial Group grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.4% during the first quarter. Snider Financial Group now owns 17,729 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $3,025,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grimes & Company Inc. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 1,310 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.